Washington – A skeptical group of U.S. lawmakers said Wednesday that Congress is ready to seek economic sanctions against Japan if it does not reopen its markets to American beef, despite Japan’s pledge hours earlier to lift the ban.
Legislation introduced by Sens. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., and Pat Roberts, R-Kan., calls on the Treasury Department to impose tariffs on Japanese exports if Japan fails to reopen its domestic market to U.S. beef by Aug. 31.
“The job is not done until the beef is moving and shipped to Japan,” Roberts said. “We are introducing this bill to really keep their feet to the fire.”
Venting years of frustration over the dispute, Conrad said he hopes sanctions are not necessary but warned that lawmakers stand ready to make Japan pay for the negative impact the ban is having on U.S. beef producers.
Japan was the United States’ largest overseas market for beef before the ban was imposed in 2003, after the first American case of mad cow disease was discovered.
The ban was lifted for about a month at the end of last year, but shipments stopped again after Japanese officials discovered a violation of Tokyo’s import rules.
Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo, and Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, R-Colo., issued statements supporting American beef.
“We’ve been patient and we have tried to work through a collaborative and diplomatic process with the Japanese government to resolve this issue, but patience is wearing thin,” Allard said.
Musgrave said American beef is the safest in the world and “we have gone above and beyond the scientific standards accepted by the rest of the world.”
Salazar co-sponsored the legislation introduced by Conrad and Roberts. “We, as representatives of beef producing states, have been trying to do the right thing on this issue – the right thing for our Japanese allies and the right thing for our cattlemen,” he said.
The ban has cost the U.S. beef industry more than $3 billion in sales.
